Wood decks have the disadvantage of deteriorating rapidly under inclement weather conditions. In the northwest United States, for example, the wood decks are exposed to considerable mositure during the winter months and considerable heat during the drier summer months. This combination of heavy moisture accumulations and heavy drying periods causes the decks to crack and otherwise deteriorate.
As a result of the rapid deterioration of wood decks, it is a common practice to cover decks with a fiberglass covering. The conventional technique employed is to coat the wood deck with a layer of resin, apply strips of fiberglass material to the resin, and finally to seal the gaps between the strips of fiberglass by overlying the gaps with additional strips of fiberglass material. The resulting fiberglass deck covering has serious disadvantages. First of all, the strips of fiberglass applied over the gaps between the underlying strips of resin and figerglass produce an unsightly bulge or seam. Second, the direct attachment of the fiberglass material to the wood deck through the cured, rigid resin makes the fiberglass/resin combination an integral part of the wood deck structure. Subsequently, during changes in temperature, the wood deck will expand and contract at a different rate than the fiberglass and resin, causing the bond between the resin and the wood deck to eventually crack and cause the deck covering to delaminate from the wood deck.